James Conrad uses various comparisons to further the ideas he seeks to portray within his novel. While all his comparisons come back to light and dark, each of them has a specific idea behind it. Conrad uses the comparisons of the Thames River and the Congo River as well as civilized people versus the savages to compare what we consider polite society to what we consider wild and how they perhaps are not as different as we all might like to think.
When describing the Thames Conrad speaks of proud, noble men including Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Franklin (Conrad, p. 5). He talks about the Thames having “tranquil dignity” and having profound serenity (Conrad, p. 5). This reflects how he feels about the people populating the area around the Thames: he sees them as civilized, or in this case the light part of this comparison. In contrast is the Congo. He talks about it being a “mighty big river” and looking like “an immense snake uncoiled” (Conrad, p. 11). It is wild, untamed, lacking the nobleness of the Thames. Nonetheless, the protagonist is strangely attracted to it when viewing it on map.
Several times in the novel Conrad refers to people as savages. In one part he says unhappy savages have a “deathlike indifference” (Conrad, p. 23). The author also talks about how one character “hate[s] those savages” (Conrad, p. 29). In this case the savages are those who are poor, or not the elite.
Conrad shows how everything is different then what one perceives by using comparisons and contrasts throughout his book. These are just a few examples.
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. Heart Of Darkness. London: Bibliolis Books, 2010. Print.
